BitTorrent Inc. has an image problem, or at least that’s what some people appear to believe.
Today the San Francisco company launched a website to answer the question of whether or not BitTorrent equals piracy.
“We hear this question all the time,” BitTorrent Inc. CEO Eric Klinker explains.
“We hear we’ve killed film, the radio star, and the content industry. We hear we’re the web’s dark matter, and the Internet’s seedy underbelly. We are not.”
Invented more than a decade ago by the founder of BitTorrent Inc., BitTorrent has become the protocol of choice for file-sharers. This includes those who download copyrighted material.
However, the technology itself is neutral and does a lot of good for content creators as well. This is the message BitTorrent Inc. is trying to communicate.
“We are scientists, engineers, developers and designers committed to building a better Internet. We are photographers, musicians, writers and gamers. We came to work here because we wanted to change the way the Internet works for us. How it works for all of us.”
Their message is that BitTorrent does not equal piracy. The company is distancing itself from those who download infringing content, including the majority of their 150+ million users.
“We do not endorse piracy. We do not encourage it. We don’t point to piracy sites. We don’t host any infringing content,” BitTorrent’s CEO says.
Over the past year BitTorrent has been very active in championing the legal use of its software through their artist promotions. The company further points out that major technology companies such as Twitter and Facebook are utilizing BitTorrent as well.
BitTorrent Inc. is right of course. A technology shouldn’t be blamed for how users engage with it. However, having plenty of legal uses doesn’t necessarily prevent one from running into legal trouble.
Just ask The Pirate Bay, Kim Dotcom or the people from Limewire.
